I used to consider myself a pretty good writer. This blog suggests a good dose of writers block. Really though, its about bein too lazy to update it and I've never had any kind of journal or diary so its a new thing to me.
Anyway, rather than sit here and write excuses, here's an update. I'll start with the most recent.
Weekend of May 9-10: Boggs and Lake Sonoma Series #2 (http://www.bikemonkey.net/)
- had my best lake sonoma results so far, taking 7 minutes off of my March 22 race: 1:18 versus 
1:25. always hard to define exactly where I did better and how, but its probably a combination of more riding, all the races done up until then, and proper fueling. i'm working towards using less water and more sport drink bottles, plus always using the gu flask.
1:25. always hard to define exactly where I did better and how, but its probably a combination of more riding, all the races done up until then, and proper fueling. i'm working towards using less water and more sport drink bottles, plus always using the gu flask.- next day went up to Boggs for a long ride. Boggs is one of those magical places where you need to stop and enjoy the scenery and hear the wind in the trees high above the trail. i was kinda feeling the previous day's race and also the extra weight of the stumpy, plus the huge backpack. all of the fun single-track made up for it, though. the final stretches of singletrack downhill were excellent. check the motionbased link to the right for recent ride details.
Weekend of May 3-4: Coolest 24
- the Coolest 24 race was one heck of an event. I was on two teams: A 2-person 8hour team(with Marco/ZenTurtle) and also a 24hr corporate team (team name: unknown) run by Jeffh. Marco and I split the first 8 hours, doing 3 laps each. Believe it or not, I began to cramp on my second lap. Both the 2nd and 3rd laps were quite a bit slower due to taking it easy and cramp breaks. I then did one night lap around 1am for the 24hr team. I had been able to rest a bit and perhaps get a 1/2hr of sleep, so the lap went quite well in regards to how my legs felt. It was the best lap and even though it was a bit cold initially, it was perfect once warmed up. The free dinner and breakfast were very welcome. This one's on the list for next year!
April 26th - Shasta Lemurian
- Ahh what a torturefest! I was hesitant to do this race since a) it was so far and b) it would involve 5200ft of climbing! Convincing myself that I would enjoy the challenge, and after having done very well at the Sea Otter race, I signed up for the long course. During the first 2/3rds of the race, I felt I was doing a pretty solid race, determined not to do any pushing. It was a pretty warm day though I would not call it hot ... the cool stream crossings were a blessing but the hill to come was another story. I kept a steady pace on the final climb until at some point the course made a right turn straight up this hill and I basically decided to walk it from there. I knew the peak was at 2700 ft and i was only at 2400 so i had some walking to do. It wasnt much easier than riding, but enough to justify it. Finally at 2700ft and the trail begins to drop .. and boy did it drop, down some steep rutted narrow and loose sections. I got my first cramp while stopping to put my foot down and analyze one of the first "XX" trail sections. One the final mini-fireroad climb after most of the downhill was done, I cramped up again and wasted so much time stopping and walking the bike. Four hours after starting the race, i finished. i had survived. This was more climbing in a 4hr period than I'd ever done. I hydrated, recovered, ate a free burrito and then drove 4 hours to get home. Ouch.
April 18 - Sea Otter Classic
- Not much to report here, aside from a pretty good race, coming in 29th out of 78 in the 35-39 age group. Next day I rode in from the creekside terrace lot and took some video of the sport riders. A pretty good post-race ride.
April 13 - Napa Valley Dirt Classic
- Ugh! Hike-a-bike central. Great trails otherwise. This was going to be a preview of things to come at the Shasta Lemurian. I had decided after both races that I was not going to ride them ever again ... and I haven't changed my mind yet. Pluses? I didn't crash on the sketchy stuff.
April 5-6: Boggs III and CCCX #5(toro park)
- Boggs III was great. I managed to pull out 5 laps, even with cramping starting in the 3rd lap. The 4th and 5th laps were done at a very controlled rate with only minor cramping but additional pushing/walking in order to further avoid cramps. The pace went from 1:05 laps to quite a bit longer. Still this was an excellent trip. I"ll always remember that little white dog that I came across on the trail, and how it followed me for about 15 minutes until I lost him when we sped up on the downhill.
- Toro Park CCCX: Well, after doing 43 miles and almost 7000ft at Boggs III, I figured I'd probably not "feel it" until two days later, so doing CCCX the day after would probably be ok! Well, it was allright until the third lap when the old cramps showed up. I was still not recovered *and* totally unprepared for this ride. Forgot my fuel and nutrition and basically came in last.
